September 2025
Every day, in decisions both large and small, we each navigate the road to lasting peace, happiness and health. This issue of our monthly mini-magazine includes some suggestions and resources to support your progress.
- Last month’s blog written by women for women
- Articles
- New Federal Government policy and guidelines for TM and hypertension
- A short list of Maharishi’s books on TM and consciousness
- National Women’s Health and Fitness Day: a reminder to put health first
- The importance of self-esteem
- Q&A: How do busy women find time to meditate?
- What women say: Oprah summarizes
Have you had a few minutes to read our August blog posts? If you haven’t, the links are below. You can also visit our blog homepage at any time to use our search feature for topics as diverse as Transcending the Stereotype of the Woman Driver from 2024 and Keeping Up With Grandma: How TM Gives Grandmothers the Advantage from 2022.
In Partnership With Nature: Interview with Farmer Holly Reichert
Today, 1.2 million farmers, more than a third of all US agricultural producers, are women. Women farmers find their relationship with the land to be intimate, precious and healing. The increasing number of women in farming is partially due to their desire for a healthier and more sustainable life. Naturally, women find fulfillment in watching things grow and nurturing them. Holly Reichert is one of these women, tending to 5.5 acres in Iowa. We spoke to her, between cultivating and harvesting, one day in July.
The Purpose of Life is the Expansion of Happiness
From my very first meditation, I experienced that true, lasting happiness comes from within. On my tenth birthday, I learned Transcendental Meditation—a gift from my dad, a TM teacher, who taught me the technique. I remember it was a beautiful summer day. I closed my eyes to meditate and, at first, I could still see the bright sunlight through my eyelids and hear the chirping of the birds outside. Then, as I settled into the meditation, the sunshine and birds’ calls were replaced with an experience of quiet and deep contentment that was sweeter than what was happening outside.
Transcendental Meditation Now Included in the U.S. National Guidelines for High Blood Pressure
August 23, 2025: Transcendental Meditation has been included in the official U.S. [AS1] [RHS2] clinical practice guideline for preventing and treating high blood pressure.
The 2025 guideline from the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology, endorsed by the American Medical Association and other major health organizations, states: “Stress reduction through Transcendental Meditation may be reasonable to prevent or treat elevated blood pressure and hypertension, as an adjunct to lifestyle or medication interventions.”
This marks the first time a meditation technique has been formally recommended in the nation’s leading high blood pressure treatment guideline. The committee rated the evidence for TM as moderate to high quality, noting consistent clinical trial data showing average reductions of 5–7 mm Hg in systolic blood pressure among people with hypertension and about 5 mm Hg among those without. TM was the only meditation program singled out; other stress-reduction methods such as breathing techniques and yoga were mentioned but supported by lower levels of evidence.
“This is a landmark acknowledgement of the evidence-base supporting the blood pressure-lowering benefits of Transcendental Meditation,” said Robert D. Brook, MD, Chair of the American Heart Association’s scientific committee on alternative approaches to lowering blood pressure and Professor of Medicine at Wayne State University. “The new guideline formally recognizes that Transcendental Meditation shows a consistent effect [AS4] [RHS5] [RHS6] [RHS7] for lowering blood pressure and can be offered safely alongside proven lifestyle changes and medications.”
Robert Schneider, MD, FACC, Director of the Institute for Prevention Research at Maharishi International University and lead investigator on several NIH-sponsored randomized controlled trials, added: “Beyond lowering blood pressure, three published randomized clinical trials have found that TM practice reduced cardiovascular events—including heart attacks, strokes, and death—over five years of follow-up. This suggests that the practice may not only improve risk factors but also help protect against the leading causes of death.”
High blood pressure affects nearly half of U.S. adults and is the most common modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease, stroke, kidney failure, and dementia. The new guideline emphasizes that lifestyle changes—such as a heart-healthy diet, regular physical activity, weight management, and stress reduction—are the foundation of prevention and treatment, with medications added when necessary. The recognition of TM highlights a safe, non-drug option that individuals can incorporate alongside medical care and other lifestyle changes.
Visit our website TM for Women’s Heart Health to learn more about how TM reduces risk factors for heart disease and stroke.
Books by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
Want to expand your understanding of the nature of your Self, of consciousness, of the range and reality of life? Here are four books that will reward you with profound knowledge and answer your questions.
Science of Being and Art of Living
This book illuminates a comprehensive science of existence and art of living that is always relevant, grounded in a universal experience of the inner Self, the field of all possibilities that resides within each of us.
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi on the Bhagavad-Gita: A New Translation and Commentary with Sanskrit text: Chapters 1-6
The Bhagavad-Gītā offers a timeless prescription for transcending the ordinary challenges of life, enabling individuals to attain elevated states of awareness and enjoy fulfillment in daily living.
Transcendental Meditation with Questions and Answers
This is an exquisite book in two parts. Part one features discussions on the Transcendental Meditation program delivered by Maharishi from March 1960 to the middle of 1961, during his evening lectures in London, England. Part two includes questions from the audience along with Maharishi’s responses.
Enlightenment to Every Individual: Invincibility to every Nation
Spanning 677 pages divided into 33 chapters, this book examines the role of the TM technique and the advanced TM-Sidhi program in unfolding enlightenment for every individual and invincibility for every society.
These are four of many valuable books by Maharishi. They can be ordered at
https://miupress.org/product-category/books/maharishi
Putting Health First
Ready to put your health first? National Women’s Health & Fitness Day, coming up on September 24th, is an annual reminder to do just that. It’s a day dedicated to self-empowerment of women of all ages to make their well-being a top priority. Whether it’s a brisk walk, a new fitness class, making a healthier dietary choice, or learning the Transcendental Meditation technique, this is your day to take charge.
Women’s health requirements are particular to our physiology. Throughout history, myths and misunderstandings have tainted perceptions relevant to women’s health and fitness. In some societies, it was even considered taboo to discuss topics like childbirth and women’s fitness.
In the mid-1900s, women’s gyms were called “reducing salons” because this was considered more relevant to women. Today, greater awareness and understanding have corrected these misconceptions. We can anticipate an even greater evolution of knowledge about health in the future, but meanwhile we can take advantage of the knowledge and resources that are available.
These types of programs might be known to you or in your routine already, but here’s a short list for those considering making some new commitments to improving health:
🔸With September 24th as your kick-off date, schedule routine checkups and tests. Prevention of illness is far less daunting than having to be cured.
🔸Find our what exercise suits your body best, be it jogging, pilates, yoga, swimming, rowing, or weight lifting. Pick something you’ll stick with, rather than trying to pick the most exerting! Whatever appeals to you, just add regular exercise to your routine. It’s often worthwhile to have a trainer, at least in the beginning, to be sure you’re getting the most advantage (and no harm) from your workout.
🔸Opportunities to expand your knowledge about your health are found in abundance across the United States, such as courses on nutrition, seminars on improving sleep, and programs on heart health.
TM for Women offers a course on the Transcendental Meditation technique for girls and women. More than 430 published research studies and decades of women’s benefits show that TM reduces stress, hypertension, anxiety, insomnia, depression, emotional imbalances, fatigue, risk of heart disease, and disordered thinking… and even slows the aging process. Because the TM technique is easy to learn and effortless to practice, delivering improved health naturally and spontaneously, signing up to learn is an easy decision.
About Self Esteem
Self-esteem is a core component of well being. It doesn’t grow from an intellectual assessment of your qualities, but rather expresses an inherent sense of comfort in your natural inner worth. It frees you from the need for approbation from others. And it frees you from fear of being yourself.
Being quietly composed and secure in yourself allows you to be independent. Self-esteem doesn’t imply that you have no need for growth in some aspects of your outlook or behavior, but rather that you have a positive self-image. Self-esteem is a good foundation for the growth of self-confidence, which is a more focused certainty in one’s skills and ability.
Stress is the enemy of self-esteem. It’s a source of negative thoughts and doubts about oneself. Stress and self-esteem have an unfortunate cyclical relationship, with stress negatively impacting self-esteem and, in turn, with low self-esteem increasing vulnerability to stress.
TM to the rescue! Published research on the Transcendental Meditation program has shown that the TM practice decreases stress, improves psychological well-being, and enhances emotional regulation. A meta-analysis out of Stanford University of 146 independent studies found the TM technique to be twice as effective at reducing trait anxiety than concentration, contemplation and other techniques.
A study funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Health and published in the Journal of Health Psychology showed that “… individuals who had lower self-esteem reported more negative affect, less positive affect, greater stress severity, and greater symptom severity during their day to day lives than individuals with higher self-esteem. Patients with chronic disease, who already face additional medical and psycho-social burden, may benefit from interventions designed to bolster self-esteem in the ongoing context of self-care.”
The TM technique helps you develop a strong self-concept by allowing you to dive within, beyond the noise, beyond the images of models, beyond social dictates, where you can effortlessly experience deeper, more expansive levels of being—and freedom from the limitations of self-doubt, stress and fatigue.
Studies have shown the TM practice develops a more strongly defined self-concept, with meditators perceiving their “actual self” as significantly closer to their “ideal self.”
A study published in the British Journal of Psychology showed that those practicing the TM technique developed a more strongly defined sense of self-concept, in comparison to controls. British Journal of Psychology 73: 57-68, 1982.
Q: How do busy women find time to meditate?
They schedule it! Some women even set a reminder on their phones.
Once you’ve learned the Transcendental Meditation technique, it becomes one of the most valuable tools in your toolbox. The time spent meditating for 20 minutes, twice daily, is more than compensated for by the extra energy, focus, and efficiency that TM provides. The increased brain coherence allows you to make more expedient choices, and the reduction of stress enables you to function smoothly and purposefully.
It’s best to schedule TM at the beginning of your day and again after work or school, just before dinner and the evening. Although the experience during the Transcendental Meditation technique is profoundly relaxing and enjoyable, the true benefits are realized in our activities. Therefore, we meditate before our day begins and again before our evening starts so that the clarity of mind and increased energy can be put to good use. These times serve as natural pauses as we shift from one focus to another, making it easy to incorporate TM into our routine.
Many women schedule their meditation time around their childcare responsibilities, before and after work, early in the morning and again just before lunch, or on scheduled breaks—whatever works for you on any given day.
Once we recognize the value of the TM technique in enhancing our lives, a realization supported by over 400 published research studies on its benefits, we will understand the importance of incorporating it into our daily routines. Just as we schedule our exercise, entertainment, meals, and other activities, practicing TM twice a day routinely will significantly enhance our performance and enjoyment of everything else we do.
Oprah Winfrey has spoken openly about the benefits of the Transcendental Meditation program and even introduced TM in her company, Harpo Studios, incorporating it into their daily schedule. She said,
“People who practice TM regularly sleep better, experience less depression and anxiety and feel an overall greater sense of well-being.”
Editor’s note: We’d love to hear your comments on the benefits you’ve received from the TM practice. And, with your permission, we’ll publish them here for other women to enjoy. Send your comment to info@tm-women.org
